And so, all good things must come to an end. We fly out tomorrow, Paris to Toronto, and, God willing, will be sleeping in our own beds by 10:00 or 11:00 tomorrow night. We did not want to risk train breakdown, train strikes, etc., so we came into Paris today after a leisurely morning in our Brussels hotel. We got into our Paris B and B a little before 4:00, and so that left us with a little time for sightseeing and exploring.
When in doubt, I like to walk in cities. If I do not have a specific destination, or if I am not in a hurry, I like to walk so that we can see the city on foot. In so doing, we stumbled across a pedestrian street full of restaurants about four blocks from our B and B. We ate a late lunch there, outside, and got in some good people-watching.
Sadly, my illness flared up and caused me some distress, so we had to go back to the B and B until a little after 5:30. By then, I was feeling better, so we went back down the same street to the pedestrian area, and we kept heading south toward the river. My plan was to get to the Seine, then turn west to go to a large formal park near the Louvre. Along the way, we stumbled across multiple pedestrian areas, including a small square where tons of people were just hanging out (or, in one area, having a dance-off among friends).
Once we got a block from the river, we went west, which brought us along the back side of the Louvre. We had never seen the museum from that angle before, and it is quite elaborate, with carved columns and decorations along the entire wall. And it just goes on. And on. And on. I finally felt we had to duck into the main courtyard to see the famous entrance of the museum, and discovered that the courtyard bordered the park I was aiming for, the Jardin des Tuileries.
Imagine our delight when we saw not only dozens of classical-style statues, and miles of well-kept hedges, and multiple large fountains, and myriads of people everywhere, but also, along one side of the gardens, a with-rides fair set up. We obviously detoured into that area; it was a great chance to get to see Paris at play. It was also odd to see these large fairground rides throwing people about with one side of the Louvre as a backdrop. We laughed with people laughing at their friends screaming on rides, and navigated fried-food lane and many win-a-prize stalls. It was much fun.
The fair dumped us out on the far end of the park, which overlooks the Paris obelisk and, further away, the Arc de Triomphe. It was a great place to sit and watch, so we did just that. The city has provided many movable chairs around the park, including some that recline, so we reclined and watched Paris go by. By the time we got up, it was after 7:00, and so we took a very very crowded Metro train back to our B and B. From there, we wandered around looking for supper, and then wrapped the evening up a little after 9:00.
It has been a great little trip. I look forward to these times away with Meredith – it breaks up the routine of bills, chores, and grading. Two weeks together is wonderful, though I am looking forward to some routine now, especially one involving petting kitties at home. We saw several Belgian cats, but they were too wary to come close enough for to us to pet them, so we are both going through withdrawal. It will be great to see the people back home, once the jet lag wears off (I’m usually fine by day three, which will be Monday). It is amazing to live in an age where you can go from Paris to Cuyahoga Falls in about twenty-one hours, and I am grateful that Mer pushes for our going on these trips. Every time, they keep us wanting to come back for more.